So if I smell something like a fish, actually bagoong. [laughter] I was smelling my hand all throughout kung ‘di ako mangalisngaw.

May I be allowed to acknowledge the presence of the House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and the other members of the House of Representatives; [applause] Mabuhay kayo. Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and the other members of the Cabinet; [applause] The other members of the Senate; Representative Lord Allan Velasco and his lovely wife Rowena Velasco [applause]; other distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant good evening to everyone.

I have a prepared speech here. But it’s a one-page, almost greeting only to the celebrant, celebrator if you may. But marami akong sinabi doon sa mga sundalo.

And might as well also join me here in a dialogue, not a speech. It’s our consensus dito sa itaas that there will be some repercussions because of Marawi.

And I do not discount the possibility that it’s near around the corner. I really do not know the exact time. But they are regrouping and they will strike back.

But insofar as the sustainability of ISIS here because of our Muslim population. I have nothing about the Muslims. I myself is a Muslim descendant, my lola.

So pero medyo ano apprehensive kami and that is why I was talking to the senators, some of them are here, last night, that we have to rearm kasi ho ‘yung mga baril ng mga sundalo natin medyo loose na ‘yung bore pati ‘yung bolt bugbog na, and they can break down anytime during a battle.

I’m trying to figure out how I can get easily the arms kasi wala akong problema sa Amerika, wala akong problema kay Trump. We understand each other perfectly.

Ang problema si Amerika is the Congress and the State Department. You know it is a multiracial race — ‘yung multiracial.

And even in the State Department, meron ‘yan silang mga dynamics diyan na kanya-kanya. Whoever is the head of this office or division about human rights, about cultural heritage, about everything. Everything that has to do with the human being, nandiyan sa UN.

Ang problema dito, even the State Department is in a topsy-turvy. For example, they go around and offer to the poorer nations assistance, aid. Ang problema naman it’s accompanied by a very irritating or disturbing statement that…

You know, if you can fix a same marriage law or legislation, parang ganun kadali na — [inaudible] fundamentally, most of us are really Christians.

Not really Jolo, kasi maliit eh. Hindi namin akalain sa Marawi mismo. And it was not a failure really of intelligence of the Armed Forces or the Police.

It was a failure of the local governments. Kanila dapat ‘yun eh. They should have reported immediately. But you know, the nonchalant attitude of some guys there. “Simple, bahala ang gobyerno dito. Wala tayong pakialam diyan.”

Then all the while, there was already the buildup. Kaya ang totoo lang niyan even Secretary Esperon and the rest of the guys sa Moscow. A little bit ano sila nung sabi ko, “I’ll declare martial law.”

Sabi nila, “Medyo hindi pa natin na-assess na…” But you know, as I have said, I have some Moro relatives in Lanao del Sur and they were the ones feeding me the information na medyo lumalala dito.

So I had independently of — the intelligence data of sa military pati pulis. Ako mismo meron na akong duda. So when it — nung pumutok, I decided right there and then in Moscow to declare martial law.

Had I been late in declaring it, mga one week, mahihirapan talaga na tayo. They could have expanded the territory more, more in reinforcements and everything.

It is not the Marawi — Maute is just a family in Marawi. It’s the ISIS. And they are here in this planet to stay for quite some time.

How we deal with them, it is the corrupt way of not even believing, utilizing Islam. And we didn’t do it in the name of violence, killing people for nothing, and destroying everything for nothing.

So they have to deal with it. They really… The way we should be dealing with.

They gave us the violence. I have to give it to them. If they give us — start beheading people, then I will start beheading people. That’s the only way. I have to return the favor because lamangan mo sila, ah mahirap ‘yan.

You cannot have an edge just because you are loud in your proclamations — mas gusto mo pumatay for after all, death is destiny. When it comes, it will come and there’s nobody who can prevent it. ‘Yun ang…

Ang problema dito, I’ll give us any other time, maybe better tonight that there’s so many implications.

I have stopped immediately, the other night, talking to the communists.

I will… I don’t know what kind of legal fiat I should use — a proclamation, executive order or something — terminating the talks with the communists and sabi ko, “Away na lang tayo.”

So the Philippines would be very busy fighting the fronts of terrorism, drugs and itong NPA.

My job is to make the Armed Forces very strong. Tutal ang weapons naman na kailangan ko, hindi naman ‘yung mga ICBM. I do not need the rockets, multiple launchers or grenades and maybe and all these things. But I need new guns so that they can fire accurately.

But I lean more now to China and Russia. I said I have nothing against the — Trump. Kung ibigay nila, okay lang. Pero kung i-dilly-dally nila and time is of the essence, by mid-year next year, kung hindi pa magdating, I must have, I must get hold of that…

Simple lang, we are fighting a rebellion. All I need is the small bombers, not the jet because magastos masyado sa gasolina. The operating costs are very huge.

Dito lang ako sa propeller-driven. If we can get it from Brazil or — and ‘yung attack helicopters. They are scheduled to be delivered next year. So that would be the redeeming factor of our lack of the equipment now.

But I must get hold of the rifles and… because I am training 20,000 more for the Army and I think I have at present also something like seven battalions of the SAF. The SAF fundamentally is a police force dedicated to address urban terrorism.

Wala naman akong inutos na… I just kept my silence all the while. Hinayaan ko na lang but they are using it as a political propaganda but that settles here the release of my…

Remember that when I ran, I had practically nobody to back me up. But I made simple promises, messaging. Corruption, drugs pati itong talking to the enemies of the state.

Ang problema dito sa Mindanao ganito, MNLF has been consistently with us. Nur has his friendship, trust in me and I can say that I hack it.

MI… We are going there Monday. [Was it Monday?] They are having an assembly. They are still professing to wait for the government to act.

‘Pag itong dalawang mainstream who are still with us, or at least in sentiment or by sentiment, ‘pag ito ang hindi nabigyan ng hinihingi nila and they will open a front for another round of revolution, this time, they will entertain lahat na. The Abu Sayyaf, the Middle East terrorist, ganun ’yan eh.

But I want you to know and maybe spoil your dinner along the way, na ‘pag hindi ito napagbigyan, I guarantee you, as Bebot and the rest of the Mindanao guys would tell you: There will be trouble in Mindanao.

Sigurado ‘yan. As sure as the sun will rise in the east, it will come. At marami na ito and maybe brutal.

So kung hindi natin pwedeng ipasok ‘yung — hindi natin ipasok ‘yung federalism, I suggest that we make another proposal.

Ang nakita ko ang pinakamadali is just to give them the autonomy like Hong Kong.

Hayaan niyo na sila. Just reconfigure the territories there and batas na lang dahan-dahan tayo — administratively. We can do it administratively. Pero ‘yung dagdag- dagdag — by law na lang.

Or if it hit a snag dito sa Constitution, then we will tell them, we will come up with the amendments later para mawala ang… Autonomous Hong Kong. Autonomous Mindanao.

Pati si ano — gugulo rin talaga eh. Hindi ‘yan papayag ‘yung mga sila but I don’t know. If it’s just as a matter of I said reconfiguring administratively then to follow ‘yung batas, maybe we can postpone or transfer to another day the fracture of Mindanao. ‘Yan lang ang ma-suggest ko. Pero I said, we have to rearm. We have to give to the Armed Forces all that the needed tools to fight a war.

At saka itong komunista, sabi ko, I will treat them as terrorists. Babawiin ko ‘yung legal entity of the Communist Party of the Philippines that we are having officially talks. Kasi nagsawa na ako dito sa kanila.

And there are things which they are asking from me, which I cannot give because it is not mine. Kaibigan kami noon. Pamulitika ‘yan eh. Mayor, boto lang ‘yan eh.

You go to the mountains and so they would say so many things. I say, “I cannot do anything, I’m just a mayor. If it has something to do with my city, I’ll do it for you. No problem.”

But when they go out of the camps, wala na ‘yang sila, stripped na ‘yan. [inaudible] Siguro wallet. That’s why I have started giving sidearms to the Army.

Sabi ko, “Manabla na lang kayo.” And for those who were assigned in places where there is really extremely — exceedingly violent world — sabi ko sa kanila, “bigyan ko kayong lahat.”

I’ll give you three magazines. Itong magazines you use it after you’re exhausted with the M16’s, the rifles. Pagkaubos niyang dalawang magazine ninyo, the last magazine is for you.

‘Wag kang mag-surrender, ‘wag mong ibigay ‘yang baril mo buhay. Mag-surrender ka, they will treat you like a dog and humiliate you to no end.

At the end of the day, they will decapitate you in front of the camera. That is not the way how a soldier should die. ‘Pag wala ka ng ano kakainin ninyo ‘yang barrel, then raise your right hand and said, “F*** you, guys.” Ganyan ang order ko sa kanila.

“Duterte, pasista.” “Berdugo”. “EJK”. Blah, blah, blah, blah. “Corrupt”. O ‘di sabi ko, “If I am corrupt, if I am a killer, extrajudicial killing, the fact I am is what you say all of me, then why talk to me?”

Ito namang — let’s have dinner. Hindi last, droga. Hindi ako nakikialam ngayon pero ang order ko naman is really very clear and it admits of no debate. I said do not destroy my country because I will kill you. Do not destroy the youth because talagang papatayin kita.

Me? I can stay in the hospital for mga within two years to stretch it. And that will be my pension and everything.

But after that, I have to pray that I have to die. Itong, itong sila, how much an average soldier, policeman, a government employee, ilan lang ang sweldo nila? Ilan lang ang kanilang pension pati retirement?

‘Yun talaga ang — they rub their finger hanggang magbigay ‘yung bata. ‘Yang kita mo naman. It’s not new to him or to me, it’s universal.

They are only given three, four hours of sleep. Pinapakain ng basura. In the Arab culture, whether you are a slave or pig in their service, sexual abuse is always there. Kaya prevalent ‘yang pills. Automatic ‘yan. Gagamitin ‘yan ng head of the family, anak, brother-in-law, mga pinsan.

And ‘yung mga… They suffered the degradation, the destruction of your self-esteem, dignity, just to scrape money to send to the Philippines so that their children can study at may pagkain kasi ‘yung lolo’t lola wala man rin mga trabaho.

Ang market ng shabu ‘yun ‘yang sa mga mahihirap. Those who can afford P200 per sachet. Times it for six, that’s about mga 16,000. You times it by 12, I peg it at 3 million, ‘yung figure ni Santiago noon, never mind ‘yung akin, ‘yung 1.6 million.

And it was not only when I was President nung lumabas ito lahat, and you saw it by the hundreds of thousands surrendering.

Kung talagang Pilipino, hayaan mo lang ganun? And you listen to these bleeding hearts of government?

Well, I can go to prison. The h*** I care. After I retire, hihiritan kita, sabihin ko, “May kwarto doon, punta na ako.”

You do not do that to the Filipino people. Hindi ako papayag ng ganun. At least, during my term, do not do it because you will place your life in jeopardy.

And they do not even go to the police station for recording purposes or even a lecture of what accountability means to a citizen of this country.
Ganun. Nandito si Kiko Pangilinan? Kasi kung nandito, kausapin kita sandali. If there is one single person dito sa Pilipinas who has caused this miserable situation, Kiko Pangilinan.

They began or he began to tinker of it and he copied what is very similar to the State of Washington Juvenile Offenders Act or ‘yung sa New York. Halos pareho eh.

But he did not provide for the interventions after the arrest na sana ‘pag nahuli ‘yung bata automatic he goes to a [inaudible] run by government and by the social workers, and the psychologist, and the sociologist kung meron.

Kaya ‘yun. Tapos lumabas na ‘yung mga generals. Sabi ko, “Give me all the available data. Huwag ninyong taguin.” So ‘yan, lumabas ‘yung mga generals doon. So I had to fire them left and right.

Kaya maraming galit sa akin. Marami talagang galit sa akin. But sinabi ko, I go back to my basic promise: There will be no corruption and there will be no corruption, itataya ko ang honor ko diyan pati buhay ko.

‘Yang drugs na ‘yan, if it fails or if it succeeds now, I will be there to finish it off. At least on the third, fourth year, mawala ‘yan.

About the Author: Romeo A. Mataac, Jr. is the founder and editor in chief of Marinduque News Network. He is a researcher in a leading global professional services company. He has five year background experience in finance & accounting operations and business process outsourcing. Myong, as he is fondly called by his friends, born and raised in the province of Marinduque. He loves travelling and doing community outreach activities. Email address: info.marinduque@gmail.com. Follow his social media accounts below.

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Marinduque News Network (MNN) known as Marinduquenews which can be pronounced as marin’dukenyos (the people of Marinduque are called Marinduquenos) is a one stop portal of the island province of Marinduque. This site contains as it happens update, latest news and information related to the province. It helps in the promotion of tourism industry of Marinduque. It also features different places, events, businesses as well as kababayans who made significant impact to the island.
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